In the wake of the season’s penultimate College Football Playoff rankings being released on Tuesday and with conference championship weekend ahead, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark forcefully advocated for his league champion to earn a top-four seed and first-round bye in the 12-team Playoff format over any Group of 5 participants.
“In no way should a Group of 5 champion be ranked above our champion,” Yormark said Wednesday.
The Big 12 championship will feature No. 15 Arizona State (10-2) and No. 16 Iowa State (10-2) battling in Arlington, Texas, with the winner assured to earn one of the five automatic Playoff bids reserved for conference champions. But with No. 10 Boise State (11-1) hosting No. 20 UNLV (10-2) in the Mountain West championship on Friday, the Broncos are in position to earn one of those four first-round byes over the Big 12 with a victory.
Yormark took issue with that logic in a media availability previewing the Big 12 title game alongside Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham and Iowa State coach Matt Campbell.
“The (selection) committee continues to show time and time again that they are paying attention to logos versus resumes,” said Yormark. “Strength of schedule should matter and wins against Power 4 opponents should matter.”
Yormark highlighted that Arizona State and Iowa State each played 10 of 12 games against Power 4 opponents this season, while Boise State faced just one: top-ranked, undefeated Oregon, which handed the Broncos their only loss of the season in a 37-34, last-second victory on Sept. 7. Boise State also defeated Washington State and Oregon State out of the Pac-12.
The committee uses an unpublicized strength-of-schedule formula, but according to ESPN’s metric, Iowa State ranks 68th, Arizona State 72nd and Boise State 86th. According to ESPN’s strength of record, Boise State is 13th, Iowa State is 15th and Arizona State is 16th.
The commissioner also used his criticism of the selection committee favoring one-loss Boise State as justification for the Big 12 champion being seeded above other three-loss Playoff teams — an apparent nod to possible at-large bids for three-loss Alabama and a potential three-loss Georgia, as well as a potential three-loss ACC champion should Clemson upset SMU on Saturday.
“The committee clearly focuses on the win and loss column,” said Yormark. “Going by that principle, no three-loss team from a Power 4 conference should get a bye over a two-loss champion from the Big 12.”
No. 11 Alabama (9-3), which is idle this weekend and will not play for the SEC championship, is already ranked ahead of the Sun Devils and Cyclones.
Yormark noted his prior support for the 12-team Playoff format and that it is “playing out with the excitement we thought,” but suggested he could be in favor of future changes based on how things have unfolded thus far.
“At the conclusion of the season the management committee will come together and we’ll figure out what that format should look like moving forward and do we need to improve it in any way,” said Yormark, who also appealed for better clarity on how the Playoff selection committee determines its rankings.
“The one thing that I am concerned about, candidly, and something I’ll address with (CFP executive director) Richard Clark at the right time, is that I need to better understand — and I think I speak on behalf of the full management committee and the commissioners: What are the key metrics that are being used as we think about the rankings each week?” said Yormark. “Because strength of schedule was something that was identified for me early in the fall as a very, very, critically important metric, and I’m not sure that has happened, at least to date.”
Asked about his faith in the committee’s decision-making process with the season’s final rankings set to be unveiled on Sunday, Yormark offered a supportive yet wait-and-see perspective.
“Obviously I challenge what I’ve seen to date. But I do have trust in the committee that ultimately we’ll land where we’re supposed to land,” said Yormark, “and that ultimately will mean (the Big 12 will) get a bye, which we’re deserving of, based on all the key metrics that should come into play.
“It will come down to the selection committee making that decision, but I’m hopeful it will be the right one.”
Required reading
- How much does the CFP selection committee punish conference championship game losers?
- College Football Playoff rankings: Miami out, Alabama in with last at-large bid as ACC implications linger
(Photo: Jay Biggerstaff / Imagn Images)
